The State government appeared to face unexpectedly strong political headwinds on Wednesday.
The sworn statement by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that M. Sivasankar, the former Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and his team in the CMO were fully aware of the illegal import of gold via the diplomatic channel of the UAE consulate here has put the government in an arguably awkward position in the run-up to the local body polls.
The development has also triggered intense speculation that the multiple investigations into the gold smuggling case would ultimately lead to the apex of the government in the election year.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) reportedly scrambled to make sense of the legal and political implications of the ED's deposition.
It also strived to mount a robust defence of the government's record at the election hustings even as the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) renewed their calls for the resignation of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The LDF felt it had a customary edge in local body polls. It controlled a majority of the local bodies, which had spearheaded COVID-19 management, infrastructure development, social welfare measures and pandemic relief initiatives with some measure of success.
However, an LDF insider said the front could scarcely afford to take an overwhelming victory for granted. The United Democratic Front (UDF) had come top in the byelections held in 27 wards in various local bodies across the State in September last, notching up victories in 15 of them. The BJP had gained one seat, he pointed out.
As the drumbeat of the polls grows closer, the LDF desperately needed a narrative to counter the adverse publicity set off by the Central investigations. The front required to instruct election workers on how to counter the Opposition's "vilification" campaign at the booth and household level to pre-empt any erosion of votes. T
The LDF activists were also reportedly sceptical about how far the particular messaging that the Central agencies were acting in a politically biased manner against the State government would resonate among voters given the spectacle of the arrests of Mr. Sivasankar and Bineesh Kodiyeri on money laundering charges by the ED.
